THE row about MPs second home allowances came under new fire when a commuting council worker revealed his second home as a tent. Barking and Dagenham council employee Philip Hanman, 57, hails from Penzance, Cornwall, which is 330 miles away from his job.

THE row about MPs' second home allowances came under new fire when a commuting council worker revealed his second home as a tent.

Barking and Dagenham council employee Philip Hanman, 57, hails from Penzance, Cornwall, which is 330 miles away from his job.

He drives down every Monday night and sets up his �30 Lidl tent on a campsite in Epping Forest to work in the borough Tuesday to Friday.

The recent revelations about MPs excessive claims on expenses and housing allowances have angered Mr Hanman who works as a fraud investigator.

He recommended camping to MPs as a way of saving money.

He said: "I would very much like him to come out to Epping and share the bliss of the forest and see what life is like outside the sheltered environment of the Palace of Westminster, just to see how ordinary people who have to work a long way from home have to live.

"I have spent 30 years in the Territorial Army which certainly teaches you a few things about living in the open."

And it only costs �7 a night.